Space ball toy



April 1958 I G. STEWART 2,831,685

SPACE BALL TOY Filed Sept. 13, 1956 INVENTOR GLADYS STEWART I ATTORNEYS United States Patent SPACE BALL TOY Gladys Stewart, Oakland, Calif.

Application September 13, 1956, Serial No. 609,649

1 Claim. (Cl. 272-1) The present invention relates broadly to toys and more specifically to a rotary type of toy adapted for rotary motion when manipulated by a child.

An object of the invention is to provide such a rotary toy having a freely rotatable cylinder mounted on a substantially vertical pole or shaft adapted for grasping by a child, who thereafter can swing around on the cylinder while grasping it.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rotary toy of the character described having a rounded base of ball-like configuration with a peripheral tire-like extension thereon, so that when in use, the extension will serve as a rotary surface for the toy when manipulated by a child or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a toy of a simple design, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and susceptible of long life.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide such a rotary toy having safety of design to prevent injury to children using or manipulating the same.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the toy of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the toy; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and of enlarged dimensions.

The toy consists of a base 10, preferably constructed completely of rubber, and having a rounded bottom surface 12. This base is in the nature of a ball and has a tire-like extension 14 extending peripherally around the base in close proximity to the rounded bottom surface 12 for purposes hereinafter to be set forth. This tire like extension can have, for example only, a diameter of 21 inches outside.

A shaft or pole 16 having a diameter slightly less than that of a standard broom handle, is mounted in the base 10 in any desired manner and, when the toy is not in use, due to the configuration of the base and rounded bottom surface 12, the shaft will be in substantially vertical position. A bracing member 18 which can consist of a plurality of individual braces or a single piece of material, preferably metal, is attached to the shaft 16 in spaced relation with the base 10. A lower cap 20 is fastened to the bracing member 18 and rigidly maintained 2 in position with respect to the shaft 16. A circular groove 22 is provided in the upper side or surface of the cap 29 in which is inserted and maintained a ball bearing race 24.

An upper cap member 26 of the same construction as cap member 20 is also fixed to the shaft 16 but is in inverted position with respect to lower cap 20. Cap 26 likewise is provided with a circular groove 28 in which is mounted and maintained ball bearing race 30.

A cylinder 32, preferably of rubber, and having a diameter just large enough to encase the shaft 16 and turn easily, has a central opening 34 extending there through, in which are positioned in peripherally mounted fashion a plurality of roller bearings 36 by means of which the rubber cylinder 32 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 16. At its upper and lower ends, plates 38 and 4.0 respectively are fixed to the rubber cylinder and constitute bearing surfaces for the bearings of ball bearing races 24 and 30. A nut or the like 42 is screw threadedly engaged with the upper extremity of shaft 16 and serves to maintain the caps 20 and .26 and the cylinder 32 in assembled relationship. Manifestly the bearings can be omitted in the interests of simplicity.

In operation a user, such as a child, will grasp the cylinder 32 in both hands and upon swinging in a circular fashion the cylinder will rotate on the shaft 16. The dimensions of cylinder 32 are such that a nine or ten year old child can get his hands around it. At the same time, due to centrifugal action, the toy will rotate on the base 10 and into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. When this occurs, the toy will rotate on its base 12 and simultaneously rotate on the underside of extension 14, the rounded bottom surface 12 being quite shallow.

Manifestly the different portions of the toy can be constructed of materials other than those mentioned as being preferable, and minor details of construction can be changed Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in, and limited solely by, the appended claim.

I claim:

A rotary toy comprising a ball-like base having a rounded ground contact surface and a peripheral extension adjacently disposed at right angles to said rounded ground contact surface, an upstanding shaft secured in said base and a freely rotatable hand grip member mounted on said shaft in spaced relation to said base, said rounded ground contact surface and said peripheral eX- tension rotatably supporting said toy upon a substantially vertical axis upon rotation of said upstanding shaft by a user swinging thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 941,946 Prior Nov. 30, 1909 2,624,157 Weeks et al Jan. 6, 1953 2,712,712 Hajek et al. July 12, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,676 Great Britain Dec. 28, 1914 

